White-breasted Waterhen

Nominate subspecies
Photo by anonymous_guy
Lamma Island, Hong Kong, October 2005

Amaurornis phoenicurus

Identification

28–33 cm (11-13 in)
Dark grey upperparts and flanks, white face, neck and breast, cinnamon belly and undertail. The body is flattened laterally to allow easier passage through the reeds or undergrowth. They have long toes, a short tail and a yellow bill and legs. Sexes are similar, but immature birds are much duller versions of the adults. The downy chicks are black.^[3]

Distribution

Nominate subspecies, fledgling with parent
Photo by Alok Tewari
Dist. Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, India, Aug 2013

Southern Asia, the Philippines, the Malay Archipelago and many smaller islands including the Maldives¹, Nicobar Islands, Sulawesi, Moluccas, and the Lesser Sunda Islands.

Taxonomy

Plain Bush-hen (A. olivacea), Pale-vented Bush-hen (A. moluccana), and Talaud Bush-hen (A. magnirostris) were formerly considered conspecific within White-breasted Waterhen.

Subspecies

Four subspecies are recognized²:

• A. p. phoenicurus - Southern Asia, Malay Archipelago and Philippines Islands
• A. p. insularis - Andaman and Nicobar Islands
• A. p. midnicobarica - Central Nicobar Islands
• A. p. leucomelana - Sulawesi, western Moluccas and Lesser Sundas

Habitat

Marshes.

Behaviour

Breeding

They nest in a dry location on the ground in marsh vegetation, laying 6-7 eggs.^[3]

Diet

They probe in mud or shallow water; or they forage on the ground or in low bushes and small trees. The diet includes insects, small fish and seeds. ^[3]

Vocalisation

Call recorded at the beginning of spring, many individuals were calling.

Recording by Alok Tewari
Bharatpur Keoladeo National Park, India, February-2016
Call by one individual sitting in a bush on the edge of a water-body, can be heard in the recording below :

Recording by Alok Tewari
Delhi, India, August-2012

References

1. Thread in Id forum of Birdforum
2. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2021. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2021. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
3. Wikipedia

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) White-breasted Waterhen. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 5 June 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/White-breasted_Waterhen

External Links

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